Sex trafficking in Indian Country a "significant problem," senators told

Members of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee listen to testimony about the problem of sex trafficking in Indian Country. One senator said federal agencies need to do more to help victims "who are slipping through the cracks."

WASHINGTON-Sex trafficking in Indian Country is a significant problem, with tribal women and children suffering at higher rates than the general population, a panel of experts and activists told a Senate committee on September 27, 2017.

Witnesses told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that tribes experience risk factors that can lead to victimization more often than other groups and that tribal women and children are targeted by traffickers "for their exotic beauty."

"All too often they are kidnapped, sold and transported to remote places like Asia and the Middle East," said Cindy McCain,...